Reports: Former Penguins COO Travis Williams To Replace Frank Coonelly As Pittsburgh Pirates President
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Former Pittsburgh Pirates president Frank Coonelly will be replaced by former Penguins COO Travis Williams, according to reports.
Jason Mackey at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that his sources say former Penguins COO Travis Williams will be the new president of the Pirates.
Per sources, replacing Frank Coonelly as Pirates president will be former Penguins COO Travis Williams, who left Pittsburgh last fall to work for the New York Islanders: https://t.co/H2UJWpc673
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) October 23, 2019
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Wednesday that the team and former president Frank Coonelly have agreed to part ways.
"I have a great deal of respect and appreciation for Frank. I will forever be grateful for his tireless work ethic on behalf of the organization, as well as his and his family's commitment to making a positive impact in our community," Pirates owner Bob Nutting said.
Coonelly has also put his Bell Acres home up for sale.
The team says Coonelly's replacement has been selected and will be introduced on October 28.
Per Mackey's sources, that will be Williams, who is returning to Pittsburgh after he left last fall to work for the New York Islanders.
"Frank and I both agreed that it was clear a change in the day-to-day leadership of the Club is needed. This leadership transition gives us the opportunity to refresh our entire operations. Internally, the organization is energized as we prepare to introduce our new president on Monday, while we continue to work to identify a new field manager and build our coaching staff," Nutting said.
Coonelly joined the Pirates in 2007.
Prior to joining Pittsburgh, he served as the senior vice president and general counsel of labor in the MLB commissioner's office.
In a statement released by the Pirates, Coonelly said:
The second half of our season was disappointing to our fans and to all of us in the organization. Results matter and our results simply were not acceptable. It was clear that change was necessary.
"As we worked through a comprehensive assessment of everything that we do, I undertook an honest self-evaluation. While not an easy conclusion to reach, I ultimately decided that the best interests of the Pirates would be served if the Club had a new leader who would bring new ideas and a new direction.
"I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to lead this storied franchise in this great city for the last 12 years. I will forever be grateful to Bob and the entire Nutting family for giving me this incredible opportunity to serve. I am grateful as well for the opportunity to work with the highly talented and dedicated women and men who have worked for the Pirates during my time here. Whatever level of success we were able to achieve during this time was the direct result of their dedication to the organization and its fans.
"And, finally, about those fans — the men, women and kids who love and support the Pirates fueled me each and every day. I will never be able properly to thank them for the love and inspiration that they gave my family and me. The people of Pittsburgh welcomed us to town and supported us throughout this entire journey. I will forever be rooting for the Pirates organization and its great fans."
Fans on Wednesday had mixed reactions, some optimistic that change will bring about new blood and new life into the team.
But Rob Thomas of Wilkinsburg believes the loss of Coonelly isn't the answer.
"I think it's inconsequential," Thomas said. "Because Nutting is the problem. The players are not the problem, the manager is not the problem, it's Mr. Nutting. So if he stays, I don't think much is going to change."